Today on Planet 100: Toyota-Tesla Love (Video)

Today, on Planet 100, Toyota partners with Tesla to build electric cars in California, the EPA battles with BP over dispersant, and a volcano in Hawaii continues to erupt 10,000 days after it began.Toyota-Telsa LoveIt's been a rough year for Toyota with millions of vehicles recalled and a double digit sales drop. But the auto giant sees a bright future in electric upstart Tesla Motors.

On Friday, Toyota announced it would partner with Tesla by investing $50 million to bring the long-anticipated Tesla S Sedan to market by 2012. The venture would reopen the closed NUMMI plant in northern California, creating 1,000 new jobs ramping up to 10,000 at full production.

The all-electric Sedan will compete directly with the BMW-5 and may be a sign of things to come, as big auto manufacturers anticipate consumer demand for high-performance vehicles that are free from polluting fossil fuels.

Via: LA TimesDispersant WarsLast week the EPA ordered BP to use a different chemical dispersant to break up oil gushing out of a broken underground pipe in the Gulf of Mexico.

To date BP has unleashed 715,000 gallons of a highly toxic dispersant banned in Europe called Corexit 9500 claiming it to be "the best option for subsea application." The company was given 72 hours from last Thursday to identify and start using a less toxic alternative, but BP officials have stated they will not stop using the compound.

Via: Money Times10,000 Day EruptionHawaii's Big Island can add to list of attractions with the world's longest continuously erupting volcano. It was 10,000 days ago Friday that the Kilauea Volcano began erupting on Hawaii's Big Island. It's become a popular destination for scientists and tourists since it became active back in 1983.